Executive Order ( 2020 | Brazil | 94 minutes | Lázaro Ramos)

In a near-future Brazil, the need for reparations to the descendants of slaves has finally been realized. The film begins with the first recipient attempting to enter a bank to receive her due, but they locked the doors and told her there is no money to give. This, along with the election of a new racist leader drops the first domino in a quickly toppling chain that mirrors the chaos of Handmaid’s Tale. An executive order is signed that requires anyone with even the slightest pigment to be forcefully sent to Africa. Cops immediately hit the streets grabbing doctors out of surgeries, people as they walk home, and shooting anyone that doesn’t comply. An activist and journalist, André (Seu Jorge), and his married roommates Capitú (Taís Araújo) and Antônio (Alfred Enoch of Harry Potter fame) are swept up in the madness. Capitú escapes to an afro-bunker and the two men hole up in their apartment to escape the raids. What happens next is nightmarish, and considering recent circumstances, not all that out of the question.

First I want to say I am fully cognizant of the fact that I am a white woman discussing POC in a film directed by a well-known POC humanitarian, so take my opinion as it is meant to be, a point of discussion not a statement of fact or authority. This was my most anticipated film of SXSW. Not only does it star a brilliant Brazilian musician, but the narrative has potential to ignite serious discussion (heated and otherwise) regarding the slippery slope of race-based political agendas. I wanted to love it. I did love it. But the dramatic ending chosen for two characters you’d grown to know and care about through the film, one white one black, ended up muddying the waters on what could have been a powerful statement. Cinematically it was beautiful, but as far as the message goes, it deflated everything that had been built up to that point. Without revealing too much, the message I was left with is “we should all figure out how to get along” and “aggression never gets you anywhere but trouble”, and that’s disappointing.

If I’ve learned anything in my own ally work, listening and watching BLM organizers, and the general outcome of protests in our nation over the years, it’s that posturing is prevalent in times of serious strife and real change can, and needs, to take many forms… one of which is aggressive action. Not violence necessarily, but not just peaceful discussion either. MLK didn’t change the world by always being the placating peace-loving man that seems to dominate his storyline in schools. He demanded change. Comparing the fate of a white man with that of a pivotal black protagonist is where it lost some meaning for me. It’s still well worth seeing, but also worth deeper discussion.